TMJ Dizziness

hello all. I have been having vertigo/dizziness for 6 months sue to TMJ. Ive had every test done know to man and it is definitely TMJ. I wear a night guard made by a specialist and also get weekly chiropractic and acupuncture treatment. I'm considering seeing a Oral Surgeon and looking into getting a steroid shot. Wondering if anyone out there has had luck getting rid of TMJ dizziness??? thanks so much.

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MountainReader (02-25-2013)

There is a TMJ board here as well that you may find some helpful information on.

Can I ask what the qualifications are of the dentist who made your night guard? There are a lot of dentists out there who treat TMJ but don't have a lot of additional training in TMJ treatment or a functional bite.

What kind of night guard are you wearing?

Did they tell you why you are only wearing your splint at night?

From my personal experience and lots of research, if you are having such severe issues you need to be having treatment 24/7. By wearing the splint only at night, it allows your jaw to go back to it's 'incorrect' position at night. It also messes with your muscles and keeps you in spasm. Your muscles need to really loosen up to help you with the dizziness. In most cases with TMJD, that means the jaw needs to come forward a bit.

I found that wearing a lower mandibular repositioning splint really helped with my symptoms. I also found that getting orofacial trigger point work on the masseters and pterygoid areas really helped a lot as well.

thanks for replying. The TMJ specialist has been focusing only on TMJD for 30 years so he he experienced. He didn't say anything about the 24/7 splint. The splint I have now is made in his in house lab and it has a "front bite plate" so basically when I clench at night only my front teeth touch not my back teeth at all, the idea being this takes the pressure off the TMJs. I still wake up with a sore jaw and of course have all the ear symptoms like crackling/popping and dizziness.

I really recommend that trigger point release work to help with some of your symptoms.

Your specialist sounds much like one that I originally saw too. Many tmj specialists take different approaches. I went to a couple highly trained specialists before I found the one that was right for me. Your specialist is taking a conservative approach that works well for many people. If you can get relief with the conservative approach, that would be the best option.

I will say that I tried a device that sounds almost exactly the same as what you are trying. Actually, twice with two different specialists. I was a major bruxer (grinder) when I started treatment. In my case, they actually made things much worse. The specialists tried adjusting them and they were comfortable enough, but I was in such pain that I ended up giving them up after a couple weeks respectively.

Shots may help. I know some people found relief with botox. Prolotherapy may also be an option.

My discs had slipped which resulted in my lower jaw being pushed back a few mm into my ear. The repositioning splint has helped me get the jaw forward and which has allowed the muscles to loosen and kept the jaw from being constantly pushed into my ear. I lost a lot of hearing in one year, had stuffiness and some bad ear pain. I chose to go with a bit more aggressive treatment since I was so worried about the hearing loss and wanted to stop from losing more. (After 3 years, my hearing loss is no longer getting worse and I rarely have tinnitus. The pain is gone much of the time, but I still have it occassionally as I progress through my treatment.)

I'm curious. With all of your testing to get your diagnosis, what did they actually say your problems were with your TMJ?

There is a book called The TMJ Healing Plan by Cynthia Peterson that I highly recommend. It gives a lot of info on tmjd, things you can do on your own, specialists you may find helpful and treatments doctors may recommend.

i have tried botox didn't help. i haven't had too much testing regarding my tmj. I just went to a specialist who confirmed by case after listening to my symptoms and other things being ruled our by 4 ENTs (I kept thinking it was my ears) and Ive also had MRI and CT or my brain all came back normal. My symptoms of TMJD are the ear symptoms, dizziness, jaw popping, jaw feeling tight and tight/sore muscles, sensitive to bright lights, but the dizziness is really whats ruining my life, and I have 3 little kids to take care of!!!